1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a point card for sequentially recording service points according to a consideration such as purchase of commodities and the like, a point card processing apparatus, and a point card system for processing this point card.
2. Prior Art
Department stores, large-scale stores, and the like employ a point card system as a profit returning service to specific customers. In the point card system, a store (provider) issues a point card to a registered customer. When the customer brings this point card and pays for purchased commodities or a paid service, specified service points equivalent to the consideration are provided and are recorded in the point card.
When the customer conducts next purchase of commodities and the like, the point card system provides a discount or an appropriate service according to the number of service points recorded in the point card. Since the provider can acquire various types of information about customers by using point cards, the point card system is very useful for effectively sending direct mail, for example. The point card system is also profitable to customers because there are offered various benefits such as profit returning services, discounts, and the like.
Presently, there are provided not only the above-mentioned point card, but also various cards such as bank cards, various prepaid cards, commuter passes, and the like. In many card systems, a card presented by the owner is loaded into a card reader/writer installed at the provider for recording or reproducing information and the like. Many card systems process specified operations by exchanging a card between the owner and the provider.
Card systems are intended for varieties of system evolutions and operations by using large-capacity, high-performance cards. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-11218, “wireless card system and control method thereof”, discloses a railroad station system such as an automatic ticket checker using a wireless card having the wireless function. This system inspects tickets without the need to insert a card into the automatic ticket checker. According to this system, the wireless card functions not only as a commuter pass or a prepaid card, but also as a medium for storing guidance information which is provided by radio when the card passes the automatic ticket checker.
As mentioned above, the point card system is beneficial to both the provider and the customer. A conventional point card system uses customer identification information (ID information) recorded in a point card to collect marketing information such as a purchase history. Based on this information, the system is designed to operate by offering direct mail services, additional benefits, and the like.
It is very important for the provider to understand how the costly and time-consuming an advertisement actually has a direct effect on customers. To investigate an effect of the advertisement, for example, the provider sends direct mail to customers individually. When the customers visit the store and purchase commodities thereafter, the provider has little choice but to assume that the direct mail motivated customers to visit the store and purchase commodities. Based on this assumption, the provider drafts a plan for the next advertisement. However, it has been not always successful to create an efficient and effective advertisement satisfying customer needs.
A conventional point card system aims at customers who purchased commodities and the like. It is possible to obtain marketing information about when and what commodities a customer purchased. However, the conventional point card system could not acquire detailed information about, say, what information (advertisement) motivated the customers to visit the store. Such information can be collected by requesting the customers for a questionnaire or interviewing them. However, these works are labor-intensive. Further, it is difficult to acquire sufficiently accurate information.
Conventional point card systems provide almost the same contents. While a huge investment is required for developing the card processing software, introducing equipment such as a card reader, issuing cards, and the like, the advertising has a little impact on customers and is less effective. In the conventional system, the point card just functions as a medium for recording identification information about the customer and the number of points equivalent to a profit returning service offered from the provider.